The Sun rises bright in France
The sun rises bright in France,And fair sets he;But he has tint the blythe blink he hadIn my ain countree.
O, it’s nae my ain ruinThat saddens aye my e’e,But the dear Marie I left behin’Wi’ sweet bairnies three.
My lanely hearth burn’d bonnie,And smiled my ain Marie;I’ve left a’ my heart behin’In my ain countree.
The bud comes back to summer,And the blossom to the bee;But I’ll win back, O never,To my ain countree.
O, I am leal to high Heaven,Where soon I hope to be,An’ there I’ll meet ye a’ soonFrae my ain countree!
Words in this poem
- blink v. i.
- To wink; to twinkle with, or as with, the eye. [OE. blenken; akin to dan. blinke, Sw. blinka, G. blinken to shine, glance, wink, twinkle, D. blinken to shine; and prob. to D. blikken to glance, twinkle, G. bl]
- leal a.
- Faithful; loyal; true. [OE. leial, another form of loial, F. loyal. See Loyal.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Sun rises bright in France is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900, Project Gutenberg ebook #66619; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Allan Cunningham, The Sun rises bright in France, in Poems (1784–1843), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/obev-allan-cunningham/the-sun-rises-bright-in-france.html, id L16184.
Form and metre
The Sun rises bright in France is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.5 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -A-A france · heA · had · countreeA
- 2 -A-A ruin · e'eA · behin · threeA
- 3 -A-A bonnie · marieA · behin · countreeA
- 4 -A-A summer · beeA · never · countreeA
- 5 ABAB heavenA · beB · soonA · countreeB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The sun rises bright in France, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And fair sets he; | 4 | ···· |
| But he has tint the blythe blink he had | 9 | ········· |
| In my ain countree. | 5 | ····· |
| O, it’s nae my ain ruin | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| That saddens aye my e’e, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But the dear Marie I left behin’ | 9 | ···˘/···· |
| Wi’ sweet bairnies three. | 4 | ···· |
| My lanely hearth burn’d bonnie, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And smiled my ain Marie; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| I’ve left a’ my heart behin’ | 7 | ······· |
| In my ain countree. | 5 | ····· |
| The bud comes back to summer, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And the blossom to the bee; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| But I’ll win back, O never, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| To my ain countree. | 5 | ····· |
| O, I am leal to high Heaven, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Where soon I hope to be, | 6 | ······ |
| An’ there I’ll meet ye a’ soon | 7 | ······· |
| Frae my ain countree! | 5 | ····· |
Notes from the edition 1
Quiller-Couch's glosses on the hard words, from The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250–1900, chosen and edited by Arthur Quiller-Couch (Oxford, 1900; Project Gutenberg #66619)
- Stanza 1 _589._ tint] lost.
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